This section is intended to provide information to facilitate an understanding of various technologies described herein. As the section's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That such art is related in no way implies that it is prior art. The related art may or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that the statements in this section are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Sonar has been used to detect waterborne or underwater objects. For example, sonar devices may be used to detect fish or other waterborne contacts, locate wreckage, or determine bottom topography and depth. Devices such as transducer elements, or transducers, have been developed to produce sound. These transducer elements may transmit the sound into and through the water, and they may also detect echo returns from sound that returns to the transducer elements after reflecting off of an object.
Transducer elements may convert an electrical signal into sound energy, and conversely, may convert sound energy, detected via pressure changes, into an electrical signal or sonar data. In operation, a transducer element may produce a sound pressure signal which emanates in a beam pattern such that a pressure wave is generated, where the pressure wave expands as it moves away from the source. Reflected sound may then return to the transducer element in the form of a sonar return signal, where the sonar return signal may be interpreted as a surface of an object. Transducer elements may be designed to produce different beam patterns, and they may be directed towards the seabed in various directions for navigation or target location. Display technology may also be utilized in the interpretation of sonar data representing the sonar return signals.